As the members of the McMaster Class of 2029 arrive on campus and launch into their undergraduate years, one Mac alumna has memories of reaching that same milestone eight decades ago. Doris (Wertheim) Sloan, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1945, recently celebrated the 80th anniversary of her graduation.  

The McMaster University that Sloan knew 80 years ago would be – in some ways – almost unrecognizable to the students who are following in her footsteps today. In 1945, names like Harry Thode, Edward Togo Salmon and Chester New belonged to McMaster professors, not to buildings. The card game bridge was one of the most popular on-campus pastimes. Senior students still wore academic gowns to classes and labs, and not surprisingly, the influence of the war on the University and its students was profound. 

In an article called “Wartime Memories” that Sloan wrote in 2019, she recalled, “My life at McMaster was overshadowed by the reality of war. Many of our male high school friends were serving in the armed forces; some were missing in action and others had already been killed. Daily casualty lists were posted downtown and death was an ever-present reminder that Canada was at war.” In fact, during part of Sloan’s time at McMaster, male students had to carry a deferment notice, a discharge certificate or a rejection paper to prove why they were not in active military service.  

After completing her McMaster degree and marrying James Sloan, a member of the Mac Class of ’44, Doris Sloan built a life that took her around Southern Ontario, west to Calgary and then back again to Hamilton. The first part of that journey was with her husband James and their children Jamie and Wendy. Sloan was a professional librarian in both Hamilton and Calgary while also playing important roles in running fast food franchises the family owned in Windsor and in Calgary. A sports fan who loves the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Calgary Stampeders and Calgary Flames, Sloan was also an accomplished performer in her younger years, acting, singing as a soloist for different church choirs and even being part of the Calgary ’88 Olympic Choir. 

When James died in 1979, Sloan began making regular trips back to Ontario to maintain her strong network of friends in her home province. As her son Jamie said, “People are everything to her and everyone who meets her loves her.” Eventually, she moved back to Ontario and remarried. 

Amazingly, her rich life nearly ended before it really began when Sloan and her mother contracted tuberculosis in 1929. While they were isolated at the Mountain Sanatorium in Hamilton – and not allowed to see each other – Sloan’s mother died of her infection. Just weeks before Sloan was likely to meet the same fate, her father fought to bring her home. Returned to her family, Sloan recovered. She has now been a tuberculosis survivor for 96 years; Jamie describes her as being “very strong.” 

Throughout the 80 years Sloan has been a McMaster graduate, she has maintained her connection with her alma mater. Her family has long been a McMaster family: Her brother, Douglas Wertheim ’40, was a Mac grad, as were both of her late husbands, James Sloan ’44 and Gordon N. Guyatt ’46, and her stepson, current McMaster professor Gordon H. Guyatt ’77. Sloan was a longtime donor, a volunteer for Class of ’45 reunions and a volunteer member of the McMaster Alumni Association’s Alumni Gallery Sub-Committee.

A bench and tree, commemorated in Sloan’s name, are placed by Gilmour Hall in the centre of campus. This spot offers a view of the front steps of University Hall where Sloan and her closest friends would eat lunch almost every day during their undergraduate years. That group of Mac friends remained close for the rest of their lives.

Sloan attended the University’s Alumni Anniversary Luncheon in 2023 to celebrate her 100th birthday in the company of her fellow Mac grads. Not surprisingly, Sloan was the oldest participant at the event and now, at 102, is the oldest actively engaged member of the McMaster alumni family. 

So much has changed in the 80 years since Doris Sloan completed her McMaster degree in 1945.  Still, as McMaster’s campus, people and context have evolved, so much of what defines the McMaster character remains true despite the passing years. As Sloan wrote, “McMaster was not just a beautiful edifice – it housed good friends and a caring and compassionate faculty. I knew I had found my place and was grateful. … This was my Mac experience and I loved it.”